by Stephen Padre, ACT International
Lesotho, March 11, 2004 -- An
African proverb says, "When a mountain is in your path, do not sit
down at its foot and cry. Get up and climb it." Surrounded totally
by South Africa, the tiny country of Lesotho is covered mostly by mountains.
As part of their daily lives, the people of Lesotho have been climbing
and living on mountains for generations. But in the last few years, the
forces of nature have created other mountains that have made the climbing
that much harder.
A prolonged drought is causing widespread food shortages among the population in Lesotho. The government estimates that 600,000 to 700,000 of the total population of 1.8 million will need food aid in the coming months.
For Mosito Phate, a small farmer, this mountain was not too high to climb - or even to grow food on. Despite the drought, he continued to put the mountain to good use by growing his family's food on its slopes. Today it flourishes during a severe dry spell across all of southern Africa.
Phate, who lives in the region of Sekake, proudly shows off to visitors the neat rows of maize, an African staple food, as well as potatoes, green beans, chili peppers, bell peppers, pumpkins and a variety of fruit trees.
Phate is among many small farmers in the area who are withstanding the drought in part because of assistance they received from the Christian Council of Lesotho (CCL), a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International.
Lesotho was one of several countries in southern Africa affected by a food crisis brought on by a crippling drought in 2002-2003. CCL, with support from ACT members around the world, provided food relief for 9,700 people during that period. Although food production in the country then began to increase, there were still considerable numbers of people whom CCL had identified as needing assistance.
CCL formulated a comprehensive plan that, in the short-term, addressed the households that were most at risk of running low on food supplies. CCL's monthly distributions of maize meal, vegetable oil and pulses helped nearly 2,000 of the most vulnerable households (from October 2002 to June 2003) in Sekake and Seforong. Both of these districts were hit hard by the drought. In the second phase of its plan, CCL provided these households with beans, peas and wheat seeds to plant for the following harvest at the end of this period.
Currently in the final stage of its plan, CCL has been helping 400 households make the transition from the food relief phase to ensuring that they have their own reliable sources of food. Funding from ACT members, with additional support from an ACT member and other churches, is providing training for Phate and other small farmers in growing indigenous vegetables other than the traditional maize.
Using the training they received in techniques of intercropping - growing a variety of vegetables at the same time - the soil is now more fertile, and the diversity of plants means that at least some will survive the drought. It also means a more diverse and healthier diet for farmers' families.
Phate has used this new knowledge to expand his small farm, trying new plants and building more terraces on the side of the mountain. He spends long hours each day weeding, watering and tending the plants, with help from his son.
Down the road from Phate's garden plot, Letsabisa Lerotholi also tends a lush kitchen garden outside her home, a tiny oasis on the dry slope of the mountain that towers above her house. She waters her garden of cabbage, fruit trees and other fruits and vegetables from a tank that is shared with four neighboring houses. The water for these gardens comes from a nearby river higher up the mountain.
These small farmers are producing enough food to feed their families as well as additional produce to sell to other families or at the market in town. While they may not have total control over the mountains and other forces of nature, these farmers are well-positioned this year to come through this drought.